Tell me I'm not the only one...

HomerJ

HomerJ

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2012
Messages
1,199
I just got to wondering how much I spent this year to shave some lbs off of my backpacking gear. What I came up with was not very comforting... I spent just over $500 (tent and sleeping bag) to shave off 3 lbs! :eek: And that's not figuring in the cost of the gear its replacing... I don't even want to know...
 
You're NOT alone. I went through this last year. New tent, pad, pack, puffy (2 actually...darn Steep and Cheap), and a scale to weigh it all. Then there was THIS year. Holy cow...why did I read this thread?...you really got me thinking! New CAR (Outback) in April. Plus a new packraft the same month and tons of 'river gear' to make 2 backcountry river trips happen. Yeah brother...you are not alone! :)
 
How much does a night in a hotel cost? Divide what you spent by the cost of a hotel and you'll learn how many nights you have to stay in it to break even. I don't get new gear often, but when I do I calculate the break even point and figure it's all gravy after that.
 
Hmmm...to shave weight this/last year I got a new:
Feathered Friends Osprey sleeping bag
Marmot Zeus jacket
Dueter ActLite 65+10 pack
Emberlit UL wood stove
GSI Halulite Ketalist
Exped SynMat UL 7

That's not including all of my impulse buys. Yikes!

Writing it all down seems like a lot of gear the last 12 months. Thankfully, my wife hasn't been too critical of my purchases. I won my fantasy football league this year so that's paying for my plane tickets to Idaho next month, which helps.

All told, I think I shaved well over 6 lbs.
 
hahaha. it only gets worse man... wait until you start spending 500 bucks to ditch 3 oz of weight. 500 bucks for 3 pounds sounds like a steal!
 
My cycling habit is the killer sure that frame looks great totally worth 5k. This is why we still have a fur kid.
 
blueeyes said:
Zip it! Do you enjoy what you do with this stuff???? Than don't look back. Just go use it and make it worth it. :D
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I DO!!! Immensely!! I feel better now! LOL! I guess pretty much everyone does it from hunters, to fisherman, to golfers, to skiers, to photographers, to etc. If its your passion then its worth it! :twothumbs:
 
I usually feel pretty good about buying quality equipment, because I know I will use it for a long while. I still use my Feathered Friends 0 degree bag (16 years old), Western Mountaineering Mity Lite (10 years old), Garuda tent (12 years old), Bibler I tent (8 years old), Arcteryx Naos pack (5 years old) and when the spirit moves me I break out our North Face VE23 geodesic dome (33 years old). All of these items perform just as well as the day i bought them, or nearly as well. Buy the best!
Greg
 
I've been doing the same thing. I figure it's cheaper than most guys' hobbies.
 
Aldaron said:
I've been doing the same thing. I figure it's cheaper than most guys' hobbies.
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I pointed this out to Audra today by telling her I could buy all new backpacking gear each year and still be cheaper than if I had a boat. It did not go over as well as I'd hoped... :(
 
I was lucky the boat was her idea so a new tent not so bad on my end. Cars the endless pit money use the term recycling antique cars it sounds greener and you can tell her your helping the enviroment.
 
nick said:
I pointed this out to Audra today by telling her I could buy all new backpacking gear each year and still be cheaper than if I had a boat. It did not go over as well as I'd hoped... :(
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Take her boat shopping and then say "I think I'll get that new backpack,tent,whatever instead"!
 
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